Our Authority? God and Jesus via the Scriptures
After listening to my lecture on the "Son of God in the Bible" (see previous post) a facebook friend asked me:
"With charity and love for you, may I ask you to express your convictions for why your argument for the non-deity of "the Son of God" (with the definite article), should be respectfully received when for twenty-three-plus years you have publicly espoused His deity?
Here's my answer, slightly edited:
In short, indeed, it is the study of Scripture that has brought me to understand that “For us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus the Messiah…”(I Cor. 8:6). “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, a man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Verses like these are all over the Bible. In the talk on the Son of God, you can see that I am approaching the topic from a biblical perspective. What does the Bible say? People can speculate that Son of God has some other, to quote trinitarians, “ontological” meaning, but that’s human (Greek philosophical) speculation. Show me in the Bible where Son of God means deity. In every occurrence in the Scripture, Son of God means a created being, not “God”.
Indeed I grew up in the trinitarian atmosphere and knew nothing different. I approached the Scriptures with a trinitarian bias. I have come to recognize that bias. Once again, it is my belief in the authority of the Scripture that broke that bias. For that emphasis on the authority of the Scriptures I can be thankful to the evangelical background from which I’ve sprung. But the Scriptures and the Trinity eventually collide.
Let me suggest another angle from which to look at my situation. I was ready to give up a job, a home, friends, family, “church” community, living in Israel, and endure slander and lies. Why? Once again, the authority of Scripture. I don’t know you so well, but for the people who know me better, let me assure them that I haven’t changed in a very key way. I’m still seeking God and His kingdom. It may be that I believe what I do because I’m not seeking glory from men, but from the only God (John 5:44).
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If you are still reading, and you want to hear a similar testimony of a brother that's been in the truth a lot longer than me, see here. That brother's home page has a list of verses and topics that may be worth perusal as you study the Scriptures.
"With charity and love for you, may I ask you to express your convictions for why your argument for the non-deity of "the Son of God" (with the definite article), should be respectfully received when for twenty-three-plus years you have publicly espoused His deity?
Here's my answer, slightly edited:
In short, indeed, it is the study of Scripture that has brought me to understand that “For us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus the Messiah…”(I Cor. 8:6). “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, a man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Verses like these are all over the Bible. In the talk on the Son of God, you can see that I am approaching the topic from a biblical perspective. What does the Bible say? People can speculate that Son of God has some other, to quote trinitarians, “ontological” meaning, but that’s human (Greek philosophical) speculation. Show me in the Bible where Son of God means deity. In every occurrence in the Scripture, Son of God means a created being, not “God”.
Indeed I grew up in the trinitarian atmosphere and knew nothing different. I approached the Scriptures with a trinitarian bias. I have come to recognize that bias. Once again, it is my belief in the authority of the Scripture that broke that bias. For that emphasis on the authority of the Scriptures I can be thankful to the evangelical background from which I’ve sprung. But the Scriptures and the Trinity eventually collide.
Let me suggest another angle from which to look at my situation. I was ready to give up a job, a home, friends, family, “church” community, living in Israel, and endure slander and lies. Why? Once again, the authority of Scripture. I don’t know you so well, but for the people who know me better, let me assure them that I haven’t changed in a very key way. I’m still seeking God and His kingdom. It may be that I believe what I do because I’m not seeking glory from men, but from the only God (John 5:44).
_ _ _ _
If you are still reading, and you want to hear a similar testimony of a brother that's been in the truth a lot longer than me, see here. That brother's home page has a list of verses and topics that may be worth perusal as you study the Scriptures.
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